


it's a little thing

by allthingsgo



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 16:57:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17287925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthingsgo/pseuds/allthingsgo
Summary: Tahani volunteers to decorate for the Christmas Party. Eleanor tags along out of boredom, mostly, until Tahani reveals the alcohol she managed to sneak in. This is about Tahani unabashedly finding Eleanor adorable.





	it's a little thing

**Author's Note:**

> Weeks late, thematically, but this is the first thing I've published in like years so yes! Hope it's not awful. Peace out. #tahaniisalesbian

“I should probably get started now, Eleanor. Though it may seem effortless, my method for orchestrating the most lavish parties does require some time and forethought.”

Eleanor blows a raspberry at her and leans back in her chair to point her red solo cup Tahani’s way. “One more, you nerd. There’s like two hours left until they get here. No way it takes you that long to hang a stocking.” 

Tahani grimaces at the image. “A bloated sock is not appropriate holiday decor.” 

Eleanor shrugs and takes another gulp of the contraband liquor Tahani sneaked in earlier. They’ve got the study room to themselves, bare and waiting for Tahani to unleash her elegance upon it. 

“But truly, preparing the perfect Christmas party demands time and keen attention to detail. There is a fine line between what is merry and full of cheer and what is gaudy and reminiscent of low-budget seasonal car dealership advertisements.” She shudders. 

“Oh, please, I could decorate this whole room in 15 minutes.” 

Tahani rolls her eyes. “Undoubtedly, if the theme was _Nightmare Before Christmas_.” 

Eleanor gapes at her with an air of drama that can only be the result of the alcohol floating in her bloodstream. “Are you implying that I can’t handle this? Decorating? Hold this and watch me work.” 

The way she hands off her drink and stomps over to the Christmas lights almost makes Tahani put a stop to it before it begins. Coaxing Eleanor with a few drinks so she can keep her company while she sets up the room for their holiday party is one thing, but supervising this noticeably tipsy woman as she haphazardly throws tinsel on any jutted edge that will catch it grates against her hostess instincts. 

“Why is this so long?” huffs Eleanor, turning in a tight circle as she tries to escape from the tangle of tinsel. 

Tahani tilts her head at the sight. Alright, so maybe this could be entertaining. Given how she’s never seen Eleanor move with such gusto, especially with regards to something so “lame” as holiday decorating, it can’t hurt to indulge her little self-imposed challenge. 

“Perhaps a little more to the left, darling.” She sets the cup down and points at the space in the wall where the miniature wreath would fit best. 

Tsk-tsk comes the reply, followed by a stern, outstretched hand to keep Tahani at bay. “I got this, hot stuff. Just sit back and be amazed.” 

Acquiescent, Tahani pulls a chair out and earns a cheeky wink from Eleanor. 

“Focus, now. The quicker you’ve finished the sooner I can start fixing it.” 

The smug look switches into a light glare and Tahani laughs, watching then in amused silence as Eleanor diligently moves her chair from corner to corner in intervals of 3 feet to hang lights and wreaths and little snowmen. 

Every now and then Eleanor makes comments: 

“How do you actually enjoy this?”  
“Why can’t I put the lights through the wreath? What’s the hole for?”  
“My arms hurt and there’s tinsel in my eye.”  
“Tahani, stop laughing.”

Tahani very rarely stops laughing, and after nearly 20 minutes of banter and decorative progress,  
their time together becomes less about who can best tease the other and more about the way Eleanor glances back every now and then for Tahani’s silent nod of approval. Or the feeling in Tahani’s cheeks when she catches herself smiling at the back of Eleanor’s head. Or, less pleasantly, the nagging sensation of guilt when she remembers the way in which she got her friend to stay in the first place. 

“I must say, Eleanor, for an inebriated, holiday-adverse, amateur decorator you’ve really managed to liven up the place.” 

“I am not drunk.”

Tahani lifts her gaze from where it was appraising her nail beds and smirks at Eleanor. “Well, tipsy, if you want to be precise about it.”

Eleanor turns her head and grumbles something Tahani doesn’t catch before saying, “Jason’s fault for making me shotgun two beers on my way here.”

Tahani shakes her head because, of course. “And how did that happen?”

“He wanted to make a meme out of me by recording me screwing up or whatever but the first time he had the front camera on and, well, the second time nothing happened because I’m really good at doing awesome stuff.”

Tahani chuckles and looks over at Eleanor. Her back is turned and her arms are outstretched to adjust the row of lights bending at the corner. She’s so small that the effort makes her red shirt ride up and… Tahani doesn’t know why she expected a lower back tattoo, but she’s glad there isn’t one. And now she wonders why she’s glad. And why she can’t stop staring. She quickly brings a cup to her lips to soothe their sudden dryness. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Eleanor sighs, now at the halfway mark of the last wall left to adorn. “I can’t believe I’m almost done.” She adopts a reflective tone. “What is it about you, Tahani Al-Jamil, that has made me willingly waste 40 minutes of my life on this?” 

Tahani laughs, and hears it come out shakier than normal. She coughs a little, a hand to her torso and throws back another sip of gin. “I wouldn’t say it had much to do with me, really. Probably just the alcohol that got you into the Christmas spirit.”

Eleanor hops off the chair and stares thoughtfully at Tahani for about 5 seconds before she looks away and walks over to the last box of ornaments. “You could’ve asked me to help, dummy. I didn’t stay for the booze.” 

Tahani studies her, surprised. Eleanor meets her eyes and gives a little shrug. 

“But it did seal the deal, not gonna lie.” 

She hops up onto chair again, this time with her arms full of little wreaths, plushies, and shiny items Tahani does not remember buying. Tahani has the sobering sensation that Eleanor is going to fall off if she reaches any further out, and surely enough, as soon as the first reindeer figurine tumbles out of her arms Tahani is striding to Eleanor’s side to catch her. Or, more like, serve as a trampoline, because after a quick push to Eleanor’s hips Tahani sees her bounce right back into position. 

The movement is so illogically smooth that whatever tension existed at the possibility of Eleanor damaging her adorable face dissipates into childish giggles from both of them and a snort that Tahani will agonize over later, probably. Eleanor’s free hand finds its way on top of Tahani’s head as they stand there giggling, and Tahani has no idea where to put hers. 

“You’re still drunk,” Tahani says, following the last traces of laughter. The floor is littered with decorations but Eleanor immediately goes back to what almost caused her to tip over onto the coarse carpet. 

“I am _not_ ,” grunts Eleanor, the tip of her tongue out and eyes focused on placing the one ornament she managed to keep firmly in her grasp.

When she moves back to analyze her work, Tahani finally gets to see what was so important. Needless to say, it catches her off-guard. 

“Wait. That’s not a wreath, is it...”

It was not, in fact, a wreath, but a little sprig of mistletoe sat on a textured, green ring. A completely understandable error to make. Tahani looks up sheepishly at Eleanor’s pensive expression and clears her throat. Dry, again. Something’s wrong with her, she thinks, annoyed. 

“It’s mistletoe,” she gets out. “Where’d you find that?”

Eleanor points back. “In the box over there. Why’d you buy it?”

“I didn’t! I think Simone left it here. It may be from the department’s inventory.” 

“Oh.”  
They both stare at it. Tahani has never felt so unsettled by a plant before. 

“Well, there’s only on thing left to do...” starts Eleanor, and Tahani knows where she’s going with this. Obviously, this licentious twig must be put away. 

She’s about to say this when a firm hand at her cheek coaxes her to the right and up against Eleanor’s waiting lips. They’re soft and warm and pull away much too quickly, if she’s honest with herself. Tahani knows exactly what her face looks like when they come apart: wide-eyed, flushed, parted lips the tiny, inarticulate manifestation of her surprise. 

Eleanor boops her on the nose.

“What’s it like being the short one now, gorgeous?” 

As if what just happened wasn’t enough, the role inversion makes her head spin even further until all she can do is look up at Eleanor’s cocky grin and laugh. Quiet laughter that serves to ease the tumult of emotions in her center and lets Eleanor know that she’s fine. They’re both okay, and friends, and no one here (especially not Tahani) is wondering why she still feels the heaviness of _wanting_ after something so insignificant as a mistletoe kiss. 

The party is a hit, of course. The only fact of the night Tahani can say she fully expected, which is comforting, for someone like her. But she’ll admit, sometimes surprises are much more rewarding.


End file.
